Proficiency Group
Marketing Services

Philosophy

Proficiency Group is driven by a simple guiding vision of best practice for independent resellers and marketers: deliver productivity in a personalised and eco-friendly way.

We translate productivity as saving clients ‘time, money and space’; and personalisation as tailored and relevant messages based on listening to the subject and creating individual personas.

Usually, this means reaching beyond the buyer to the user-chooser. We nickname this person, Lucy, the typical decision maker for the majority of business supplies purchased. Lucy could be an executive in sales, marketing, HR, training, research, administrative, FM, finance, legal, secretarial or executive assistants or secretaries.

Successful Selling to the ‘C level’ e.g. CFO/FD’s

Coaching the reseller’s sales force how to focus selling skills on CFO/FD’s in cooperation with buyer contacts. Training in how to sell-in the productivity power of single source systems and managed print services, from a local source, by cutting costs and cutting carbon emissions. (See typical CFO/FD, Freddy Finance, centre right)

Personalised eMarketing programmes.

Personalised email marketing campaigns....design and orchestrated marketing. One-to-One direct mail; and moment-to-moment email marketing campaigns to key user-choosers e.g.  FM's, FD's, CFO’s, executive PA’s, secretaries

Brilliant brand strategy and design services

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Training in how to build an 'Intimate' database of user-chooser email contacts, e.g. typically 5 per customer account. Training in how to create user chooser persona, to facilitate personalised communications:  relevant promotions/information, with permission of users.

Inspirational training programmes.

Top Conference and Event management

The Proficiency Index

The Reseller Index measures and reports the 6 dimensions of OP reseller performance. Metrics include: profitability, productivity, customer service, CRM, employee retention and marketability ratios. Please check out the 2011 Proficiency Index report on 6 August.

Annual surveys and reports include: BrandWatch and logo designs; WebWatch studies of resellers’ webstores; and the FAME Index advertising campaign watch analysis.

Market Research user studies

Studies include corporate, SMB and SOHO business user-chooser behaviour plus reports. Spend trends and industry analysis. Merger and Acquisition feasibility studies/reports. The annual review of user-chooser buying trends was published on 10 Aug'11.

Best Practice Benchmarking.

Case studies library of experience include financial/operating models for international manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and resellers. Past studies include 'HiPROLoco' high productivity/low cost distribution models; brand creation and launch; business planning/KPI models; single source and eco-productivity programmes

Clients using Proficiency Group Services

In the UK (alpha order):

• Anglo in Forest Hill, London
• Bluefish in Northampton (pic right)
• Cawthorne Business Supples in Nuneaton
• Danwood Group, Lincoln
• Image Direct in Hayes, Middlesex
• Penketh's in Liverpool
• Spicers in Sawston, Cambridgeshire
• XMA in Nottingham

In the US/Canada (alpha order)

• BASICS Group. Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
• Complete Office, Seattle, WA
• ECi Software Solutions, Fort Worth, TX
• Garveys in Chicago, IL
• HiTouch Business Services, Saddlebrook, NJ
• Innovative in Minneapolis, MN
• Independent Stationers, Indianapolis, IN
• Kramer Leonard, Chesterton, IN
• WBMason in Brockton. MA (pic right)
• EMadill, Ladysmith, BC, Canada
• Mills of Vancouver, Canada
• Monk Office, Victoria, BC, Canada
• 3M, St.Paul, MN
• Nickerson, Monroe, OH
• Office Essentials, St.Louis, MO
• SPRichards, Atlanta, GA
• S&T Office, St. Paul, MN
• United Stationers, Deerfield, IL
• Weeks Lerman, New York.

In Italy

• Di Veroli of Rome
• GBR Rossetto of Padua,
• Karnak, San Marino